Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

When I think of Thanksgiving, I think Mashed Potatoes. But it seems over the years, we’ve always have had it the same buttery way. Although, I don’t know if you can count that period in the 90s, during the fat-free craze, that we used fake powdered butter. #Ashamed

“Don’t Mess with the Fooch” when he’s making gravy. Haha…Dad pretending to be serious! Here’s my brother-in-law, Mark, Mom with Dad, as he makes gravy.

Aside from that, in the Fucci household, it’s always been the basic Mashed Potatoes. Let me get it on the record, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, because it pairs so perfectly with gravy….and I think that’s why we would always have them plain. My dad loved making gravy…and seeing him stirs some of the drippings from the turkey into the little saucepan was the queue that dinner was just about to be served.

But every now and again, I think it’s good to mix it up…and so I introduce to you Thanksgiving Day Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Hey…I like garlic, but I don’t want it to overpower my food, especially on Thanksgiving. When I have had garlic mashed potatoes in the past, it seems like wherever I get it, the restaurant really wants you to know that these are GARLIC mashed potatoes…

…so much so that you get the burn of the garlic and I really think you lose everything great that is mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes are supposed to be smooth, creamy and comforting. So, if I was to add garlic to my mashed potatoes this year, those were the characteristics that I wanted to maintain…and I feel like these definitely hit the mark.

When you cook garlic, it mellows out the harshness and the burn of it. When you roast it, especially, I think it truly showcases the essence of what garlic can be. Roasting makes the garlic, itself, smooth, creamy and comforting. There is a sweetness to it that just makes it so fulfilling that you can literally spread it on a piece of toast and enjoy it that way. It is 180 degrees different than its raw counterpart.

Even if you’re not quite sure that you want to jump on the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes bandwagon for Thanksgiving, if nothing else, I hope this recipe takes the mystery out of how you roast your own garlic. You can do this!

You can roast your own garlic…and it couldn’t be more simple: Cut off the top. Drizzle with olive oil. Wrap it up. Roast it. And check it about 45 minutes into cooking to see if you have the beautiful golden brown color we’re looking for. If not, continue roasting a bit longer until you do get that great caramelization that gives you that smoooooooth, garlicky goodness.

Make sure you let it cool and then you can just squeeeeeeze the roasted garlic out of the head of garlic as if you were squeezing a tube of toothpaste. Just mix it in the mashed potatoes and you have a stellar side dish!

Still not convinced. No problem…how about you have the best of both worlds and make both the traditional Mashed Potatoes and the Roasted Garlic ones…

…it’s possible! The recipe for traditional Thanksgiving Day Mashed Potatoes and the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes both start the same. So, once you mash up the potatoes, add the butter, salt and pepper, just put some of it aside before adding the roasted garlic to the remaining potatoes. Everybody wins! And who knows, you might just find yourself coming over the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes team. One thing for sure, whether you make traditional potatoes this year or experiment with these Roasted Garlic potatoes, you’re gonna have something to be thankful for!

Instructions

Roast the Garlic

Cut off top portion of whole head of Garlic to expose the cloves. Peel of any excess paper.

Place on aluminum foil on a baking sheet.

Drizzle Olive oil over the Garlic

Bring up the sides of the aluminum foil around the head of garlic and crimp at the top.

Bake at 400°F for about 45 minutes or until the Garlic is golden brown. Let cool.

Mash the Potatoes

Peel Potatoes using a vegetable peeler.

Place peeled Potatoes in a large Pot.

Salt the water and fill with enough water to doubles the level of the Potatoes.

Cover, place on stove and bring water to boil. Remove cover and cook for about 25 minutes or until you can stick a fork in the potato without resistance. (Note: Do not cook potatoes so long that they fall apart when pierced with a fork.)

Heat Milk in microwave for about 30 seconds.

Start mashing potatoes with potato masher, add warm milk and butter. Add salt and pepper. Keep mashing potatoes until you reach your desired consistency. (Note: if you want really creamy whipped mashed potatoes, you can add more milk and use a hand mixer to whip)

Squeeze roasted Garlic out of the head when slightly cooled and mash garlic with a fork until a smooth paste.

Mince Parsley.

Add Garlic paste and Parsley to the mashed potatoes and thoroughly mix.